A Deeper Look At The Israel-Gaza Conflict46:57

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The escalated Gaza offensive. We’ll get the views from both sides and the latest developments.

Smoke rises after an Israeli shelling at the Shijaiyah neighborhood in Gaza City, Monday, July 21, 2014. The top Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip signaled Monday that the Islamic militant group will not agree to an unconditional cease-fire with Israel, while Israel's defense minister pledged to keep fighting "as long as necessary," raising new doubt about the highest-level mediation mission in two weeks. (AP)

The death toll in Gaza keeps mounting – hundreds of Palestinians and more than 25 Israeli soldiers. So does the cycle of mutual recrimination. Israel says it can’t tolerate Hamas rockets fired into its territory. Palestinians say they can’t tolerate oppressive conditions in Gaza. President Obama has demanded an immediate cease-fire. Can Secretary of State John Kerry make it happen? We’ll ask Israel’s Ambassador to the US, and experts on Israel, Palestinian and American policy. This hour, On Point: searching for an end to this war in Gaza.-- John Harwood

Shlomo Brom, senior research fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies.

From The Reading List

POLITICO Magazine: Why Israel Launched a Ground War in Gaza — "After days of ominous buildup, it’s finally happening: Israel has launched a ground incursion into Gaza. But why, you say? War, what’s it good for? Israel’s Iron Dome has kept the home front safe; Hamas’ rejection of the Egyptian cease-fire offer has given Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the political high ground; and there’s a big risk of losing it if Israel charges into Gaza and ends up killing many more Palestinian civilians. Which it inevitably will."

Al Jazeera America: For Netanyahu, Gaza war’s risks are rising — "The intensity of Hamas’ resistance to Israel’s ground invasion has surprised the Israelis, according to that country’s military analysts. And as causalities mount on both sides, Netanyahu faces the danger that Operation Protective Edge could leave him politically weakened at home, while it enables Hamas to reestablish its resistance credentials."